Exploring the History, Literature, and Culture of the Tar Heel State

‘Coed Quota’ ensured room for returning GIs

“Some of the clearest messages… concerning their perceived status as ornamental husband-hunters…. came from the admissions offices of leading Southern institutions like the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which established a ‘Coed Quota’ of 1,000 in 1946 in order to accommodate more male veterans and announced that ‘additional student body increases in the next few years will be made by men students.’

“A policy of restricting female admissions to ‘especially well qualified’ applicants remained in force until overturned by federal law in 1972.”

— From “Remaking Dixie: The Impact of World War II on the American South” (1997), edited by Neil R. McMillen